I
itstallgirl
Hello! I found out about CB by word of mouth so to speak and decided to check it out. I've been a HUGE gymnastics fan since I can remember. It was my older cousin through marriage who had the short genes and was a L 10 gymmie and cartwheeled and handspringed around me showing off that spurred my interest as well as in late elementary school when I was glued to the '96 Olympics. That only picked up when I went to university and got put in a dorm next to a very successful gymnast a lot of people have heard about, and as a fellow athlete and friend went to the college meets to cheer her on and began following the USAG National Team coverage and meets. Now I'm hooked. My professional skiier fiance has no clue why I'm constantly reading about gymnastics online!
The catch is I'm 6' 3". Yep a 140 lbs 6' 3" female who just graduated from college. I've done every sport under the sun, swimming, men's ice hockey -one of my favourites-, ski racing -I currently teach skiing- tennis, soccer, basketball, volleyball, field hockey... you name it. I found my niche in track and field. In the long, high and triple jump I went on to compete nationally through USATF -their junior national equivalent team- in club during high school and went on to compete for two DI colleges. Unfortunately that was not as successfully as I'd like it to be because of injuries involving multiple foot surgeries and a spinal cord surgery. I've mended from those surgeries and really am wanting to pursue something new.
The one sport I never did is gymnastics as much as I love the sport. I mention my athletic past because when I was a cheerleader (I made a great back spot with my height, our high school wasn't too good, i fibbed saying my back bend was a back walkover in progress and ended up quitting in two months when my mom made me choose cheerleading or ice hockey) I saw many girls with no athletic background trying to learn handsprings and walkovers and the like. It was painful. But in spite of being relatively strong and athletic and active I still cannot do a cartwheel. Or a handstand. My 40 inch inseam and long lanky arms, no matter how many push ups I do, never helped. I had to do millions of back bends for high jump but unlike the other mostly dancer girls I had to do them from the ground, I couldn't lean back into them.
The good news is I've found two gyms with adult gymnastics classes offered in my area!!! I'm not expecting to compete like my friend but I'd love to learn to do some basic tumbling, strengthen my body even more and in new different ways and really just get out there, challenge myself and have fun! I'm just starting the classes in the upcoming weeks and am excited to meet some other adults involved in gymnastics as well.
The catch is I'm 6' 3". Yep a 140 lbs 6' 3" female who just graduated from college. I've done every sport under the sun, swimming, men's ice hockey -one of my favourites-, ski racing -I currently teach skiing- tennis, soccer, basketball, volleyball, field hockey... you name it. I found my niche in track and field. In the long, high and triple jump I went on to compete nationally through USATF -their junior national equivalent team- in club during high school and went on to compete for two DI colleges. Unfortunately that was not as successfully as I'd like it to be because of injuries involving multiple foot surgeries and a spinal cord surgery. I've mended from those surgeries and really am wanting to pursue something new.
The one sport I never did is gymnastics as much as I love the sport. I mention my athletic past because when I was a cheerleader (I made a great back spot with my height, our high school wasn't too good, i fibbed saying my back bend was a back walkover in progress and ended up quitting in two months when my mom made me choose cheerleading or ice hockey) I saw many girls with no athletic background trying to learn handsprings and walkovers and the like. It was painful. But in spite of being relatively strong and athletic and active I still cannot do a cartwheel. Or a handstand. My 40 inch inseam and long lanky arms, no matter how many push ups I do, never helped. I had to do millions of back bends for high jump but unlike the other mostly dancer girls I had to do them from the ground, I couldn't lean back into them.
The good news is I've found two gyms with adult gymnastics classes offered in my area!!! I'm not expecting to compete like my friend but I'd love to learn to do some basic tumbling, strengthen my body even more and in new different ways and really just get out there, challenge myself and have fun! I'm just starting the classes in the upcoming weeks and am excited to meet some other adults involved in gymnastics as well.
